The invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing stress relief for humans. In industrial nations, the pressure of one's job, the requirement for sufficient money to support one's self and one's family and the desire for material wealth has caused many people to have an increased stress level. Smoking and drinking alcohol and other vices tend to further increase the stress level. Increased stress levels can be harmful to a person's health and can result in heart attacks, strokes and a host of other ailments. Some ways to reduce stress are by exercising and meditation.
Traditional American medicine has recently been supplemented with alternative types of treatments. One of these treatments is acupuncture, which is a traditional method of treating people from the Far East for thousands of years. Books about acupuncture describe numerous meridians that pass through the human body. Along the meridians are points that can be stimulated to promote healthful results.
Three of the meridians that travel along the arms of a person to their head are the triple warmer (TW), the small intestine (S.I.) and the large intestine meridians. Each of these meridians has a beginning point (BP) and an end point (EP). These points are also called sing points or acubane points. The reason the triple warmer meridian, the small intestine meridian and the large meridian have special neurological significance is they all begin in the hands and end in the head. The fact that they end in the head means they have input into the brain or neurology. Any point on these meridians can be used to positive advantage, especially if directed up the head, but for convenience the following points are most important for each meridian.
TW1 and TW23 are the respective beginning and end points on the triple warmer meridian. TW1 (also known as GUANCHONG) is located on the ulnar side of the ring finger, 0.1 cun posterior to the corner of the fingernail. When this acupuncture point is actuated, headaches and hysteria and other symptoms can be alleviated. TW3 (also known as ZHONGZHU) is on the dorsum of the hand between the forth and fifth metacarpal bones. Activation of this point often helps to alleviate headaches. TW23 ends at the end of the eyebrow.
Small intestine point 1 (SI1) is located at the ulnar side of the small finger, about 0.1 cun posterior to the corner of the fingernail. Activation of this point helps to alleviate headaches and other symptoms. The small intestine point 3 (SI3) is located at the end of the transverse crease proximal to the 5th metacarpi-phalangeal joint when the hand is half clinched. Activation of this point helps to alleviate stiffness or rigidity of the neck and also headaches. SI19 ends in front of the ear.
The large intestine point 1 (LI1) (also known as SHANGYANG) is located on the radial side of the index finger, 0.1 inch posterior to the fingernail. The large intestine 4 (LI4), (also known as the HEGU), is located on the middle of the second metacarpal bone, on the radial aspect. Actuation of this point alleviates headaches and other symptoms. LI20 ends lateral to the base of the nose.